Posted on 12/29/2004 8:30:40 AM PST by publius1
I have a houseful of libs--my wife's family--and the question came up. Does anyone know what the French, Germans, or any of the Europeans are giving to help the victims?
AUSTRALIA: Australia sent four air force transport planes with supplies and medical specialists to the western Indonesian island of Sumatra and committed US$7.6 million to the international relief effort.
BELGIUM: The government is sending a military airbus with 22 tons of aid from Medecins Sans Frontieres and UNICEF to Sri Lanka.
BRITAIN: London sent an aircraft with plastic sheets and tents worth 250,000 pounds (US$481,500) to Sri Lanka. It said it was contributing 370,000 (US$712,000) pounds to the EU aid effort and a further US$100,000 to the World Health Organization for relief efforts.
CANADA: Canada said it would make an initial contribution of 1 million Canadian dollars (US$814,300) to an appeal for some US$6.5 million by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
CHINA: The government will offer 21.6 million yuan (US$2.6 mi-llion) worth of emergency huma-nitarian aid to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives,
CZECH REPUBLIC: Prague dispatched a plane to Sri Lanka with drinking water. Officials said overall aid worth US$444,400 would be sent.
EUROPEAN UNION: The European Commission pledged 3 million euros (US$4.06 million) and said it could mobilize up to 30 million euros (US$4.06 million) for rapid distribution to aid groups.
FRANCE: Foreign Minister Michel Barnier is heading to Sri Lanka and Thailand on a flight carrying aid. Paris has earmarked 100,000 euros (US$135,000) for initial rescue efforts in Thailand and has sent a plane with about 100 rescue workers and five tons of aid to Sri Lanka.
GERMANY: Germany said it was contributing 1 million euros (US$1.35 million) of emergency aid to the international effort and taking part in the EU programme. It sent a disaster relief team to Sri Lanka.
GREECE: Greece has offered Sri Lanka medical assistance, including 17 doctors and staff.
ISRAEL: Israel sent a medical team with medicines and equipment to Sri Lanka and another to Thailand. It also planned to send a military search and rescue team to Sri Lanka.
JAPAN: Japan will provide around US$30 million in aid to countries hit by an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 29,000 people, and will send three navy vessels to waters off Thailand to help rescue survivors.
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti cabi-net agreed to send aid supplies worth US$1 million to the affected region.
NETHERLANDS: The Nether-lands said it was contributing 2 million euros (US$2.7 million) to the Red Cross-Red Crescent appeal, above and beyond its participation in the overall EU programme.
SINGAPORE: Singapore said it would contribute around US$1.2 million to the global effort, and had armed forces medical teams and relief supplies ready to fly to Indonesia.
SPAIN: Madrid is sending a plane with first aid and sanitary equipment to Sri Lanka. It has promised 1 million euros (US$1.35 million) for aid and planes.
SWEDEN: Sweden sent two communications specialists to help UN relief efforts in Sri Lanka, and said it was sending tents and communications equipment to the Maldives. The Swedish Red Cross said it would contribute US$750,000 to the global IFRC appeal.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: The government pledged US$2 million in aid and its Red Crescent was planning to send three plane-loads of aid.
UNITED STATES: The United States said it planned to provide an initial US$15 million (updated to 35 mil) in aid and had already released US$100,000 each to India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It said the US Pacific Command had sent three patrol aircraft to assess damage.
IMF: The head of the Interna-tional Monetary Fund said he intended to provide assistance.
UNHCR: The UN's refugee agency said it was providing homeless in Sri Lanka with 18,000 pieces of plastic sheeting, 17,000 plastic mats, rope and non-food relief packages for 2,000 families.
UNICEF: It was distributing clothing and more than 30,000 blankets and sleeping mats in Sri Lanka and 1,600 water tanks, 30,000 blankets, medical supplies and hundreds of thousands of water purification pills in India.
UN DEVELOPMENT PRO-GRAMME: The UNDP provided US$100,000 each to Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Thailand to help them assess and co-ordinate emergency needs.
(Source: cctv.com)
I'm suprised Israel managed to get involved, they have enough problems of their own. Good for them.
I guess so - but then you should also compute the transportation costs for the other nations.
I think these stats are old. Fox had new numbers up this morning that showed Australia giving $27 million.
France up to $1.4 million. EU was $40 million (so they could show more than the U.S. at $35 million).
Liberals are calling for Bush to give his $40 million inaugural ball money to the victims. Wonder if they would consider taking money from their beloved Clinton's library?
True, yet when you compare the costs of a line of aerial transport runs with the costs of mobilizing and deploying a fleet of 12 military vessels, and maintaining them in their deployed state for what is probably gonna end up being at least 2 months, there's no comparison.
And no other nation is actually deploying its own military for any extended amount of time. They are just shipping things in, and most of the goods are already included in the totals.
The UN and red cross are jockeying to show the US is NOT involved! The UN is pulling the al hague "I am in charge" BS in order to make them look good and the USA look uninvolved.
The Rush Subhost is saying we are going around the UN but the BBC and CNN international is ONLY focusing on the UN as the leader of disaster relief.
I bet if we donated the equivalent of 01 weeks expenses in Iraq and Afghanistan, no one would call us stingy.
Okay, if the Kerry Campaign donates its leftover funds instead of handing them over to the DNC, and if Clinton liquidates his "library" and gives the money to the relief fund.
It's certainly not a time for political bickering and all nations and international bodies should focus their energy on rushing help...
I am fairly sure I heard that Prime Minister Howard has promised a follow up of another AU$20 Million. This is in our own back yard (so to speak) and so it is not surpising that Australia would cough up so much money. We had raised more in a couple of days from public appeals than the whole French Government can muster.
Mel
I think its racism. You wanna see some big time racists? Go to europe.
and you will only see pictures of UN flag drapped supplies and pictures of UN officials in front of "A" planeload of stuff. But will the supplies get to the people or will they rot on the run way? OOOOR worse will they just be marked to go to supply the UN mission itself.
The conservative (of course!) estimate to run the task force is well over one million a day.
That assumes that the ships are moving at economical cruising speed (20 knots) If they open it up, as no doubt they are, the cost skyrockets
From this thread:
"The United Nations urged rich nations a quarter of a century ago to give away 0.7 percent of their gross domestic product every year in the form of development aid.
To date, however, just a handful of European nations, most of them in Scandinavia, actually meet that goal.
The United States, the world's largest economy, contributes about 0.13 a year of its GDP to development aid. But that figure excludes aid to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as food aid, where the United States is the world's largest donor. "
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309726/posts?page=48#1
But I bet much of that US aid does not go through the UN. That is what the UN is really demanding.
They don't care about disaster or helping. The UN only cares about controlling the money. (ala oil for food)
Imagine their corruption with a world tax.
don't forget until this event the worst disaster in the last two years was 15,000 french old people killed in nursing homes due to a heat wave. then we had the disaster of Sadaam in Iraq with 20,000 a year murdered, but that required no AID from the EU.
France's contribution is a loan. with interest.
Honored to be backed up by someone who knows first hand!
Apparently the USS Abraham Lincoln is part of the task force. Now THAT'S expensive!
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